Consent form templates

Templates for obtaining informed consent

The links below provide templates for various types of research commonly conducted within LEL. Choose a template to use as a starting point. The text in yellow should remain close to verbatim, but can be changed within reason. The other text should be altered to suit your particular study.

Most of these templates contain an information sheet (first page) and a consent form (second page).

Find which description best matches your study and then click on the link to download the form template:

• You are conducting an experimental study with (non-vulnerable) adults, in which you collect signatures AND some other personal/identifiable data (e.g., audio or video recordings).
  • Experimental study consent template (.docx)
    

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• You are conducting an experimental study with (non-vulnerable) adults, in which you collect signatures only, no other personal/identifiable data.
  • Experiment study consent template (signatures only) (.docx)
    

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• You are conducting an experimental study with child participants.
  • Developmental/child study consent template (.docx)
    

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• You are conducting a web-based experimental or interview-based study (potentially with vulnerable participants) in which you DO collect names or identifiable IDs (e.g., MTurk worker IDs, email addresses) OR other personal/identifiable data.
  • This Microsoft Forms template has been approved for use under GPDR: Web experiment or interview with identifiable data consent form. You may copy and edit this form for your use (see .docx version for usage notes). NB: the form will automatically collect participant names and email addresses.
  • A .docx version (with usage notes) is available here:Web experiment or interview with identifiable data consent template (.docx)

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You are conducting a web-based experimental study with (non-vulnerable) adults, in which you DO NOT collect ANY personal or identifiable data (i.e., no worker IDs, names, email addresses, etc.).

• Web experiment consent template — anonymous, no identifiable data (.docx)
  

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You are conducting ethnographic or social dialect data with (non-vulnerable) adults, in which you collect signatures AND some other personal/identifiable data (e.g., audio or video recordings).

• Social dialect study consent template (.docx)
  

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You are conducting ethnographic or social dialect data with (non-vulnerable) adults, in which you collect signatures only, no other personal/identifiable data. This still includes the possibility of identifiable data contained in quotations or notes (e.g., names or other personal details)

• Social dialect study consent template (signatures only) (.docx)

More information

Consent forms/information sheets in other languages
If you are collecting data in a language other than English, please submit for review copies of all consent/information forms in both English and the relevant local language(s).

Verbal consent
If you will be collecting data in a context where written consent is impossible or disadvantageous, explain this in your application and submit a written document of the text which the researcher will read aloud when obtaining verbal consent. It is expected that verbal consent will be audio recorded and that this portion of the audio recording will be stored separately from any linked audio recordings. If you require the use of verbal consent without audio recording, please contact lel.ethics@ed.ac.uk.

What do you do with your consent forms?
Consent forms are confidential documents. No one should have access to consent forms other than researchers approved on the ethics protocol. Research staff who are PIs on projects should retain all consent forms on the project for at least three years following the completion date of the project. Consent forms should be stored in a secure location, and this location should be described in a data management plan or in the submitted ethics application. PI’s are encouraged to store digitised consent forms. In this case, originals that are scanned to PDF must be securely shredded.

This is a handout on consent form management for dissertation students:

• Consent Form Advice for Students (.pdf)